Chapter 25

The lunch hour passed like a blur for Poornima Rai. She sat in the staff room, the murmur of professors around her fading as her mind replayed the scene in the garden.

“You were talking to Pavan.”

The way he had said it, the way his eyes had sharpened—it wasn’t a simple question. It carried something else, something unspoken.

She stirred her tea absentmindedly. Why did it matter to him? And why did she, for a fraction of a second, feel guilty—as though she owed him an explanation? That thought unsettled her.

Veeresh Raj was an enigma. Polished, magnetic, brilliant with numbers and strategy, yet carrying an intensity that left her restless. One moment he stood close enough that her breath faltered, the next he brushed her away with a phone call.

She smiled faintly to herself, though her eyes carried a touch of sadness. Mr. Raj, you’re a puzzle I don’t know if I want to solve…

With that, she shook herself out of the thought, picked up her book of poetry, and returned to class, her students’ eager faces reminding her of the life she had chosen—for herself, not for anyone else.